1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a web server and an apparatus with a web browser for displaying an operation screen provided by the web server.
2. Description of the Related Art
An information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) can be connected to a web server on a network and an operation screen provided by the web server is displayed on a web browser of the information processing apparatus.
In this case, the web browser of the information processing apparatus requests the operation screen from the web server. A web application on the web server responds to the request from the information processing apparatus and sends a HTML file for displaying the operation screen on the web browser to the information processing apparatus. The web browser of the information processing apparatus analyzes the received HTML file to display the operation screen based on the description of the received HTML file.
When a user inputs instructions through the operation screen displayed on the web browser, the web browser notifies the web server of the input instructions. The web application on the web server which has received the notification executes a process in accordance with the input instructions.
Recently, some multi-function peripherals (MFP) with a scanner or a printer have also been equipped with the abovementioned web browser. The MFP displays the operation screen provided by the web server using the foregoing steps on the web browser of the MFP and receives various instructions from the user.
There has been also a technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-127503. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-127503, the web server provides an operation screen on which instructions for using various functions of the MFP are input. In other words, the user of the MFP inputs instructions to be issued to the MFP through the operation screen displayed on the web browser. The web browser of the MFP notifies the web server of the input instructions.
The web server receiving the notification requests the MFP to execute various processes according to the contents of the instructions input by the user. The MFP receiving the request executes the requested processes. This eliminates the need for storing all the menu data for operating the MFP in the MFP and enables the user to readily revise the menu data on the web server.
Some information processing apparatus such as the foregoing PC and MFP are provided with a function to authenticate a user who operates the information processing apparatus and permit the user to use the information processing apparatus according to an authentication result. When the user uses the information processing apparatus provided with such a function, the user first is to input his or her own authentication information (user ID, for example). The input authentication information is checked with the information previously registered in the information processing apparatus and the user is permitted to use the information processing apparatus based on the check result.
Some web servers described above have a function to authenticate a user who can use a web application in the web server. When the operation screen is requested by the web browser of the information processing apparatus, such a web application transmits first to the information processing apparatus the screen information for displaying on the web browser an authentication screen, which causes the user to input the authentication information. The web application executes an authentication process based on the authentication information input through the authentication screen displayed on the web browser and the user is permitted to use the web application according to the authentication result.
However, when the web application with such an authentication function is accessed through the web browser of the information processing apparatus with the aforementioned authentication function, user-friendliness may decrease.
More specifically, the user is to input not only the authentication information used for the authentication process to be executed by the information processing apparatus, but also the authentication information used for the authentication process to be executed by the web application. In other words, when the web application with the authentication function is operated by the information processing apparatus with the authentication function, the authentication information is to be input more than once, which is not user friendly.